The Rolex Capri Sailing week debuted in good sailing conditions with a west-southwesterly wind ranging from 8 to 12 knots and reaching up to 18 during the last leg of racing. The cloudy sky intimidated in the first race but left space to a sunny weather in last leg and permitted the Race Committee to complete 5 races in this first day of competition.All classes raced with the fleet of 51 boats taking to the course prepared by the Race Committee in the waters in front of Capri. A windward-leeward course of 8 nautical miles was prepared for the Farr 40s and Swan 45s, while an initially 13.5 mile course was later reduced to 10 and set the stage for the Comet S and Mini Maxi regatta.
The Farr 40, with 16 entries, provided plenty of action with very close racing in the three windward-leeward races with disputed and close spectacular starts. Australian Lang Walker's Kokomo with Colin Beashel calling tactics led today's racing with two consecutive victories in the first races and a fifth place in the last, giving them an overall first place in the temporary ranking. Jim Richardson, in his Barking Mad (USA) with 2005 Volvo Ocean Race skipper Bouwe Bekking calling tactics, got second overall with a good performance today in two out of the three races. Italian favorite Massimo Mezzaroma's Nerone - who looks to establish a healthy score line in these 4 regatta days which represent the fist leg of the Farr 40 European Circuit - concluded the day with a first place in the third regatta, but fell behind the leaders with a 7th place and 17th place taken in the first two races. For the Swan 45s today's racing acted as warm up racing and did not count for the Swan 45 World Mediterranean Circuit, as the Rolex Capri Sailing week is an official leg of it. Looking forward to the arrival of all the Swans entries for the Rolex Capri Sailing Week, who were also enrolled in a previous event in Portofino, the real racing will start tomorrow even if today's races set as a perfect text for the 15 who had already arrived. Among the Mini Maxis, Italian OPS 5 - a Baltic 60 owned by Violati Massimo, member of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda - led the 7 craft fleet in today's 10 miles course and took first place. Comet 45s Libertine won in it's class in today's regatta followed by Roberto Franchella's Aria Tx Active.
